The football stayed in the air for what seemed like forever to Ray Robinson as the South Lakes defensive back raced toward the end zone step for step with an Edison receiver, no time left on the clock.
Both players stopped and turned toward the sidelines at the same instant, but Robinson, a yard or two in front and with the slightest of angles, dove and batted the pass away. He lay on the ground for several seconds, a smile creasing his face, then jumped up and tore off toward midfield and his celebrating teammates.
Robinson's deflection at the final whistle helped No. 4 seed South Lakes (8-3) preserve a gritty, 14-7, victory on the road Friday night against Edison in a Group AAA, Division 5, Northern Region semifinal as the Seahawks advanced to the championship game where they will meet Liberty District rival W.T. Woodson.
Edison (9-2), the National District champion and No. 1 seed, suffered its third consecutive region semifinal loss.
With just 28 seconds left, a hook-and-ladder and a screen pass, both to running back Mark Beach (19 carries, 104 yards), totaled 49 yards and got the Eagles to the South Lakes 33, setting up their final pass into the end zone.
``As soon as I saw the ball go up I just tried to jump as high as I could," said Robinson, a senior who came out for football for the first time this season. ``I wanted to try and tip it and it worked out."
Moments earlier, the Seahawks took the lead, 14-7, on a 1-yard keeper by quarterback Dan Cidone.
South Lakes has scored points in a myriad of ways this season, from long running and passing plays to blocked punts and interception returns. But both of its scoring drives on Friday were methodical efforts that took advantage of a short field brought on by short punts into a stiff wind.
One such punt gave the Seahawks' their first possession of the game at the Edison 33 with running backs Charles Mayah and William Bussey taking turns running the ball on seven of nine plays en route to a touchdown sneak by Cidone.
With the game tied, 7-7, late in the fourth, another Eagle punt landed at their own 39 and 10 plays later, with just one pass, Cidone and South Lakes were again in the end zone and in the lead.
``That's something that we had to do tonight," said Mayah, who missed much of last season with a broken collarbone. ``We just had to keep pounding the ball, pounding the ball, until we got it down to the 1. Then when we got it to the 1 we had something going and we scored."
The win continues what has been a remarkable turnaround for South Lakes, which finished last season 1-8. With a new head coach in Joe Trabucco and a new attitude, the Seahawks finished tied with Madison for second in the Liberty District.
One of the team's three losses was to Woodson, the Liberty District champ. The Cavaliers beat South Lakes, 40-34, in a quadruple-overtime thriller played in October.
``I'm [glad] we play Woodson again," said Cidone. ``I want to kill them. I really think that we can beat them."
Edison played well in defeat, but a few mistakes proved costly. A long touchdown run by quarterback Marshall Wharam in the first quarter was called back for holding, a drive that later ended on downs at the South Lakes 12. The Seahawk defense also stopped Edison drives at the 32 and the 30.
The Eagles lone score came late in the first half. Wharam, while being dragged down by a defender, somehow got off a floater that Darren Davis caught for a touchdown with 48 seconds left in the half to tie the game at 7. It would stay that way until the final minute.
``The last two years it'd been one and out so this was going to be a mental game for us," Edison defensive back Derrick Burroughs said. ``If we wanted to win this we had to win it both mentally and physically and tonight they were just the better team. They had less mistakes and the team with the least mistakes is going to win every time."
Now, South Lakes has a chance to complete not just an amazing turnaround, but one of the greatest seasons in program history. The Seahawks' only Northern Region title came in 1991 in the Division 6 final against Robinson.
``We believe this year more than we did last year," said South Lakes cornerback Ola Adams. ``We've got 23 seniors and a lot of leadership, good coaching. It's just that we play with heart now. Last year we didn't have any heart. We could have won some games, but we didn't have the heart."
Adams smiled, remembering a youth league playoff game on this same Edison High field. Back then, a team led by Beach got the best of Adams' team. Not this time.
``It was a good game, we played well, but we're not done yet," Adams said. ``We got one more to go, at least."
